Do you use your own tools?

[ElGuapo]

If the tools aren’t there the jobs won’t get done. They soon get the message.
Could a teacher teach without their tools? Laptop etc? There would be heck to pay.
We are not below teachers, we are school staff just like them.

[Vera]

If the tools aren’t there the jobs won’t get done. They soon get the message.
Could a teacher teach without their tools? Laptop etc? There would be heck to pay.
We are not below teachers, we are school staff just like them.

Well said, that is exactly as I view it.

[Dunroamin]

If the tools aren’t there the jobs won’t get done. They soon get the message.
Could a teacher teach without their tools? Laptop etc? There would be heck to pay.
We are not below teachers, we are school staff just like them.

The bit in bold - you should see the melt down here if the photocopiers or internet goes t*** up

[stunnn]

Its not uncommon.. I have looked after a few maintenance teams over the years and made sure that there is a budget for tools and then we only use school tools. If you break your nice drill on school work, they arn't going to buy you, personally, a replacement to take home.

It's also not just public schools.
I worked at a local Private school.. Shocked that the staff are using their own tools as they have none!
One guy was using an old screwdriver and hammer to make holes for screws as he didn't have a drill !?!?
The amazed and happy looks from the team when I give them cheap Screwfix starter bags of tools and a couple of drills between them..
(I should have taken this as a warning then.... but that's a longer story)

[TheTaker]

my SBM has a better tool kit than i do if i take my tools out would never get anything done

[Maverick]

I just don't get it. Lets say a repair needs to be done in school that requires a saw for instance and you don't have a saw at home. Are you expected to purchase one out of your own pocket and if so then I take it that it then becomes your property.

I had the basics when I started and have supplemented with my own from time to time but if we don't have it nor do I then I request from the BM. I'm sure they would rather have the cost of the saw rather than the cost of a joiner.

[HarleyPete]

Okay, I'm sure most of you will know this but, under PUWER you should not be using your own tools. Your employer has a duty of care to ensure that all equipment that you use is properly maintained and fit for purpose.

Now, I'm just as guilty as anyone regarding using your own tools. When I started, there was next to nothing in the way of tools and those that were provided, well, they were about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. I had most things, from carpentry, through spanners and sockets to plastering and bricklaying stuff that I'd acquired/bought over the years. Within reason there wasn't much I couldn't do and had the tools to do it.
Fast forward a few years and an issue raised its head. Due to a colleague (our electrician) having some school owned items of an electrical nature locked away in a locker, it was deemed, that access had to be available to this locker at all times. Bearing in mind that most of the electrical stuff was his own stuff. He understandably said no and warned me that he thought they would be looking in my direction about my tools. I had a few items that were the schools in a locked cabinet but everything else was mine. The reason he said no was that he'd already lost a set of electrical screwdrivers and some cutters. We both pretty much said the same thing that the items belonging to the school would be left in a manner to be available but everything else was a definite no!

I was called into a meeting and basically told that they "must" have access to my locker, I reiterated that I would not allow it and so it went back and forth for about 15 minutes. In the end I simply said that my best course of action was to remove all my personal tools from site and leave the cabinet unlocked. It was put to me that I could do this and just bring in what I would need each day. Needless to say, the reply was polite but to the point that this was never going to happen. I removed my tools from site two evenings later and took them home. It took two weeks before I was asked to do a job and had to say "I can't do that". When asked why I pointed out that I'd taken all my tools home a fortnight earlier, as I said I would, and the school didn't have the tools needed, which came as a shock to the person asking.
It's all well and good using your own tools, but, as a few have said, you get bent over when something happens and they won't replace them (or try to replace them with cheap alternatives).
So now, I do the best job I can with what I have and no more.

Oh, and a previous colleague (the electrician before the one above) who used his own tools (he'd made an agreement regarding "hiring" his tools) was asked the value of a large electrical terminal crimping tool (for insurance/replacement purposes). When he told the peson asking that to replace them would cost around £150 they were somewhat taken aback.

[hendo91]

I leave my current school in a few weeks and in doing so 90% of the tools will be coming with me (as they are mine) this has drawn some confusion from staff in particular the BM as they have all just defaulted into think the tool cupboard I threw together when I started was stocked with the schools tools. BM even asked if I had receipts for my tools! I would suggest that any tool you need you ask that the school provide it end of simple as that.

[Gazza]

What's wrong with a bent screwdriver?

You can use it to open paint tins, maybe stir said paint (if long enough) but only if you wipe it off and clean it afterwards. Don't be leaving dried paint on it.

You can use it to draw angles - depending on the angle it's bent.

You could use it as a hammer.

However, and I think you're missing the most obvious use for a bent screwdriver, you can tighten up and loosen screws around corners.

Don't be so negative, always look for the positives.

I agree, but he would have to buy the paint and screws himself

[thecaretaker]

I didn't use any tools of my own at work. When I started at the school, I was asked to make a list of tools I needed and the school purchased them for me. If I needed a specific tool to do a job, I'd see the head and he'd say yes, go out and buy it. He never quibbled about it.

The school was also responsible for their maintenance and replacement when they had wore out.

Notice I said HE, it's a sad fact that male head teachers tend to know you need tools to complete a job and the better the tools, the better the finished work will be. I wouldn't expect many female head teachers to appreciate that. Hopefully some would (Before I get tarnished as a male chauvinist).